Dear fellow Hanoverians:
Superintendant of Schools Dr. Kristine Nash recently spoke with a
group of parents at Center/Sylvester School regarding the budget
situation for the Hanover Schools District, and I am writing with the
following highlights of the discussion:
First and foremost, since Dr. Nash arrived in 2006 in Hanover, the
district has not been able to add programs, services or personnel.
Despite her wish (and that of the School Committee) otherwise, the
budgets she has built have not been, as she terms them,
“educationally sound” budgets.
It’s no secret that the bottom fell out of the economy in early
2008, and that the mortgage lending crisis that began in late 2008 has
only made things worse. For three straight years, the Hanover Schools
and the entire Town of Hanover has lived on a “level funded”
budget. With contractual step raises and cost of living agreements in
place over that time, the net effect has been that the schools have
cut over $3,000,000 from the bottom line of their budget. From FY’10
to FY’12, the schools cut the following amounts – FY’10
$585,000, FY’11* $838,652, FY’12* $1,577,500. In the two
asterisked years, the cuts would have been greater had we not received
federal grant offsets. Last year began cuts that encroached on the
classroom, meaning that teachers were laid off, and that caused third
grade classes at Center/Sylvester to balloon to 27 children per class,
and some classes at Hanover High School to cross the “30
threshold”. Dr. Nash also spent some time discussing some pending
legislation and other possible smaller sources of revenue from the
town that will potentially impact this year’s and next year’s
budget.
Earlier last week, the FY’13 budget process began with meetings
between the building principals and the executive administrators of
the schools. In order to avoid layoffs and a cut in services, the
School Department now anticipates they will need to raise
approximately $600,000 – $1,000,000 for FY’13. This is based on
revised salary figures from the Hanover School’s Business Manager
that were estimated as of October 27, 2011, and which are less than
the $1.3 million dollars estimated earlier this fall. In order to
present a balanced budget to the town by the end of December, the
building principals have been asked to expect level funding from the
town, and to proportionally cut a percentage of the anticipated
shortfall of $600,000 – $1,000,000 based on their building’s student
populations. Given the volatility in the salary line item (which
accounts for 80% of the school’s budget), this number is still a
moving target at this stage of the budget season.
The following projected cuts therefore remain estimations. For
Center/Sylvester, with a September 1, 2011 student population of 603
students, the projected cut for FY’13 now stands to be $132,600 to
$287,000. At Cedar, with 443 students, a $97,460 to $210,000 cut is
anticipated. For the building with the largest student population, the
Hanover Middle School, 938 students will have to bear the effects of a
$206,300 to $446,000 cut. And at the new Hanover High School, with 745
students enrolled this year, $163,900 to $354,000 is projected to be
cut as of this writing. If an average new teacher is hired at $50,000
per year, you can do the math and might conclude that we would lose 12
– 26 teachers district-wide under this scenario for next year.
It is also worth noting that the teachers are re-negotiating their
contracts with the School Committee this year also. The net effects of
all eligible teachers receiving their negotiated step raises next year
would be another $356,000 in costs. The net effect of a 1% cost of
living increase for all teachers would be approximately $150,000. The
impact of future negotiated increases would add to the gap between
available funds and the bottom line dollars needed.
The possibility of an override was discussed briefly. An override
would essentially meet the gap between estimated costs and expected
revenues. At this point in the budget season, it is far too early to
discuss what that would mean in dollars or the impact on the taxpayer.
Stay tuned to “Around Town on the Web” for details on this process
as they continue to unfold.
For “Around Town on the Web”,
Cathy H-B
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